CHAPTER 377: CHAPTER 362: GOING HOME!

While Zhouyang was hiding in the Broken Cloud Mountain Range, sorting through his gains, the two Golden Core Stage cultivators from the Beast Taming Sect sent to pursue him were disputing over whether to delve deeper into the mountain range.

The Beast Taming Sect had dispatched two Golden Core Stage cultivators to pursue Zhouyang this time, one named Wang Zhiyuan with a seventh-layer Golden Core cultivation, and the other being Han Yu, a sixth-layer cultivator with a personal vendetta against Zhouyang for killing his disciple.

Previously, Han Yu had been lured by his junior brother Zhong Chuming with promises of benefits, sending his capable disciple Murong Qianqian to surveil and hunt Zhouyang, only for Zhouyang to turn the tables and kill Han Yu’s beloved disciple, starting a deep grudge between the two.

The Beast Taming Sect had issued a warrant for Zhouyang, pushed through solely by Han Yu.

Upon abruptly hearing of his junior brother Zhong Chuming’s fall at the hands of Zhouyang, Han Yu voluntarily requested to join the group to chase Zhouyang.

Alongside Wang Zhiyuan, he traveled from the Beast Taming Sect’s mountain gate to the outskirts of the Broken Cloud Mountain Range to "Zhenyue Immortal City," and upon sensing Zhouyang’s location deep within the Broken Cloud Mountain Range through the "Nether Crow," they risked venturing further until they halted outside the Fog Area.

"If we return so hastily, won’t our Beast Taming Sect become a laughingstock? Senior Brother Wang, you’ve also said that brat could only have ventured ten thousand miles into the Fog Area. As long as we’re swift, we can kill him and retreat quickly, so even if we’re spotted by demon beasts, it won’t matter!"

On a certain mountain outside the Fog Area, Han Yu, with a plump figure, was fervently persuading a tall, dark-skinned, taciturn cultivator.

Zhouyang already bore a grudge with him over the death of his disciple. Now, having killed his junior brother Zhong Chuming, whom he had a decent relationship with, Han Yu was naturally unwilling to let Zhouyang off easily.

However, Wang Zhiyuan was different; Wang Zhiyuan’s bond with Han Yu and Zhong Chuming wasn’t deep, and he was merely following orders.

Now that Zhouyang had escaped deep into the Broken Cloud Mountain Range, he saw no reason to risk himself avenging Zhong Chuming.

Therefore, despite Han Yu’s persuasions, Wang Zhiyuan maintained a neutral expression, replying impassively, "Though Junior Brother Han’s eagerness to avenge Junior Brother Zhong is admirable, I must repeat my stance: for a mere Purple Mansion Stage cultivator, I won’t risk life-threatening encounters in the Broken Cloud Mountain Range."

After pausing briefly, he regarded Han Yu with a deep gaze and said, "Of course, if Junior Brother Han feels unable to reconcile with himself, you may enter alone. I believe dealing with a mere Purple Mansion Stage cultivator and a fledgling ghost cultivator Golden Core should pose no problem for you, Junior Brother Han."

Han Yu’s face immediately shifted, slightly prickly, he couldn’t help but angrily respond, "Senior Brother Wang, speak cautiously. I’ve always conducted myself uprightly, how could I betray my own heart?"

"If Senior Brother Wang insists on being stubborn, then don’t blame me for truthfully reporting this to the Sect Leader and Junior Martial Uncle Xu. When the Sect Leader’s directives come down, don’t blame me if it damages your face, Senior Brother!"

The matter of his beloved disciple Murong Qianqian, sent by him to hunt Zhouyang and meeting her demise, had always been a thorn in his heart, hence his zeal for pursuing Zhouyang.

Now, with Wang Zhiyuan exposing his wounds openly, he was naturally furious.

"Junior Brother, go ahead." Wang Zhiyuan closed his eyes, directly sitting in meditation, ignoring Han Yu.

Seeing this, Han Yu naturally was furious, but didn’t dare truly enter the Fog Area alone to pursue Zhouyang. So he took out a communication spiritual artifact to contact the nearest Beast Taming Sect branch, relaying the situation inside.

However, just as Wang Zhiyuan had said, risking having two Golden Core Stage cultivators venture deep into the Broken Cloud Mountain Range for a mere Purple Mansion Stage cultivator seemed like a bad trade.

Han Yu was considering the potential encounters with Tier Five demon beasts in the mountain range, while the Sect Leader of the Beast Taming Sect had to consider the possibility of enraging the Tier Six Demon Kings inside.

It was widely known that those Tier Six Demon Kings had long harbored ill feelings towards the Beast Taming Sect. Previously, some Tier Six Demon Kings even transformed into human shapes and infiltrated the sect, attempting to coax away the Tier Six spirit beasts suppressing the sect.

Though those demon kings’ schemes ultimately failed, grudges between the Beast Taming Sect and the demon kings of the Broken Cloud Mountain Range were formed.

Thereafter, the high-tier cultivators of the Beast Taming Sect often targeted by demon beasts suffered considerable losses when training in the Broken Cloud Mountain Range.

Thus, fewer Beast Taming Sect cultivators ventured to the Broken Cloud Mountain Range.

Therefore, upon learning of the situation, the Beast Taming Sect’s Sect Leader and Supreme Elder Xu Hanwen briefly discussed and decided to have Han Yu remain in Zhenyue Immortal City to continue his watch, hoping to catch Zhouyang upon emergence, while Wang Zhiyuan was summoned back to the sect.

Zhouyang, though unaware of the Beast Taming Sect’s plans, felt somewhat relieved after waiting for over ten days with no pursuers arriving, realizing his strategy had succeeded.

The Beast Taming Sect was concerned about Golden Core Stage cultivators being trapped deep in the mountain range and dared not send more, nor was Zhouyang any less worried about revealing his presence to them.

He knew many Tier Five demon beasts lived in the Fog Area, and if they clashed here, unleashing Golden Core level magical combat power, countless demon beasts would be attracted.

Not only would the Beast Taming Sect cultivators suffer, but Zhouyang would also face severe problems.

The "Hidden Spirit Incense" and "Illusory Cloud Ship" were effective only under the premise that the high-tier demon beasts had no special focus on them. Once attracting the special attention of high-tier demon beasts, finding him wouldn’t be difficult with the divine techniques of those Tier Five demon beasts.

After spending nearly twenty days in constant vigilance, Xiao Ying finally managed to suppress her internal injuries to some extent and could use a portion of her magical power.

"During our breakout battle, I shed quite a bit of blood. The Beast Taming Sect is likely tracking me through it, so for now, I’ll stay put. Ying’Er, you will take Xu Song to the mountain peak where the Yuan Condensing Fruit tree is and transplant the fruit tree into the Spirit Plant Map."

On the Nameless Spirit Mountain, after Xiao Ying managed to suppress her injuries, Zhouyang pulled her aside and shared his plan.

Since he planned to return to the Boundless Sea of Sand Cultivation Realm to seek refuge and wouldn’t be returning to the Liuyun Continent Cultivation Realm for several decades, he naturally wanted to transplant the Yuan Condensing Fruit tree back with him.

With his current strength, even if the Yellow Sand Sect knew he had obtained such a treasure, they wouldn’t have the power to force him to hand it over.

And if the Zhou Family had the Yuan Condensing Fruit tree, it might even become a second Yellow Sand Sect in the future.

The Spirit Plant Map was the dark green scroll Zhouyang had obtained in Xu Song’s cave mansion, a spatial treasure that could temporarily transplant living entities like spirit elixirs and spirit woods into it to be carried around.

After explaining his plan to Xiao Ying, Zhouyang reached into his sleeve and handed over the scroll to her.

This kind of spatial treasure cannot be stored in a storage ring or a storage bag and must be carried personally. Zhouyang always kept it in his sleeve.

Fortunately, when not in use, this item emits no special aura at all. Even a Nascent Soul Stage cultivator wouldn’t be able to easily discern its secrets without careful inspection. Otherwise, Zhouyang would truly be troubled about how to carry this item.

"Rest assured, husband, I will not let you down."

Xiao Ying solemnly accepted the scroll, pledging her commitment to the task.

Her skill as a spirit plant cultivator was actually only at the Tier Three Top Grade level, making the transplant of a Tier Four Spirit Fruit Tree like the Yuan Condensing Fruit tree quite likely to fail.

However, the divine technique she practiced, Qinghua Tribulation Crossing Immortal Light, perfectly resolved this problem.

The Qinghua Tribulation Crossing Immortal Light is driven by Wood Essence Qi, a pure power of life, beneficial not only to humans and animals but also to plants.

Spirit plant cultivators often fail when transplanting spirit elixirs and spirit woods because they wither and die after being removed from the soil, unable to sustain their vitality.

The Qinghua Tribulation Crossing Immortal Light can replenish the vitality of spirit elixirs and spirit woods at critical moments until they take root again in the soil.

Once Xiao Ying and Xu Song left, Zhouyang immediately stored the Golden-winged Thunder Eagle into the Spirit Beast Bag and utilized the Golden Cicada Concealment Technique to hide his aura and concealed himself under a pond near the Nameless Spirit Mountain to wait.

Without the Golden-winged Thunder Eagle’s intimidating presence, the Nameless Spirit Mountain was soon occupied by a Tier Three Lower Grade Demon Beast. Thus, when nearby Tier Four Demon Beasts discovered the change of dominance, they couldn’t trace it back to Zhouyang.

After waiting under the pond for five days, Xiao Ying finally returned safely with the Yuan Condensing Fruit tree, living up to her promise.

"Excellent, now that we have what we came for, let’s set off for home!"

Receiving the Spirit Plant Map from Xiao Ying’s hands, Zhouyang opened it to see the Yuan Condensing Fruit tree rooted in the land within the map’s inner space, drawing the spiritual power from spirit stones Xiao Ying had buried in the soil for growth.

"It’s a pity that using this item consumes too much magical power. Otherwise, if the two of us hid inside and had Xu Song carry it back to the Boundless Sea of Sand Cultivation Realm, safety wouldn’t be an issue at all!"

He looked at the approximately half-acre-sized small space within the map with a face full of regret.

Using spatial treasures consumes a lot of magical power. For instance, the Landscape Painting that Cao Wenjin used to trap the Tier Five High-Grade Demon Beast Golden-winged Thunder Eagle required Ninth-Layer Golden Core cultivation to barely activate.

Although Zhouyang’s Spirit Plant Map didn’t have demands that high, it still required the user to have Purple Mansion Stage cultivation to use.

And due to the laws of space, the higher the rank of people and animals or plants stored inside the Spirit Plant Map, the more magical power is needed to sustain them in a normal state of life.

Transplanting a Tier Four Lower Grade Yuan Condensing Fruit tree consumes about as much magical power as Zhouyang would need to wield a Tier Four Spiritual Artifact. But if he stored two Purple Mansion Stage cultivators, the magical power consumed every moment would be equivalent to using a Tier Five Spiritual Artifact.

Although Xu Song is a Golden Core Stage Ghost Cultivator, if he were to continuously wield a Tier Five Spiritual Artifact while traveling, he would soon have to stop to recover magical power.

And as a ghost cultivator, his rate of magical power recovery outside of a Land of Yin and Evil is much slower compared to Zhouyang and other cultivators.

Thus, Zhouyang’s journey back to the Boundless Sea of Sand Cultivation Realm was destined to rely only on himself to complete.